Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Later in the afternoon Pascal Bronnimann and Josh Stone arrived at Hookipa to contemplate the conditions and what to rig. Josh decided on a 4.3 Goya Banzai with a production Goya quad. Pascal connected a 3.9 Banzai to his custom Quattro. While they rigged it seemed our gusty kona winds were finally calming down and I thought those sails would surely be too small. But what do I know? Despite the sketchy wind inside they had no problem getting out and onto some great wave rides - as you can see below.

By this time the light was also going down and dark clouds were gathering on the horizon as the afore-mentioned front was bearing down on us. The air was permeated with a fine mist coming off the increasing surf which was tossed far and wide by the off shore winds. In other words the photographic conditions were becoming less then ideal for my point and shooter. I had to laugh when I looked over at Jimmie Hepp's kit (I'm sure everyone has seen his awesome photos by now) and realized my little hand held camera could easily fit inside one of his lenses. So if it looks like a few of these pictures were taken during a blizzard, it's almost like they were - a Maui style blizzard of waves and wind. But hey it is winter after all!